1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a construction for a female connector to be used in combination with a male connector for achieving an electrical connection in a high voltage circuit.
A female connector according to this invention is used in combination with a male connector to be paired therewith, for example, for making connection between a cathode ray tube and a high voltage producing circuit. In this case, for example, the male connector is provided on the cathode ray tube and the female connector on the high voltage producing circuit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional female connector of particular interest to this invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 through 3.
As shown, a female connector 1 has a female terminal 2 formed by bending a metal plate as in detail shown in FIG. 3. The female terminal 2 has an open end 3 for receiving the male terminal of a male connector (not shown). The opposite side of the female connector to the open end 3 is formed with a leader portion 4. The leader portion 4, as shown in FIG. 1, has an insulated or covered lead wire 5 soldered or otherwise fixed thereto.
The female terminal 2 and lead wire 5 described above are inserted into a mold (not shown) and an insulation resin is injected to form a holder 6. In this molding operation, the holder 6 is formed with a slot 7 at a position opposed to a portion of the female terminal 2. The formation of the slot 7 results in a thin-walled portion 8 positioned between the slot 7 and the female terminal 2 and formed of part of the resin which forms the holder 6. This thin-walled portion 8 allows elastic spreading of the female terminal 2. Such elastic deformation of the female terminal 2 ensures that the male terminal inserted therein positively contacts the female terminal 2.
However, the conventional female connector 1 described above has the following problem to be solved.
For molding the holder 6, injection molding is usually employed. During such injection molding, it has often occurred that under the pressure of the resin being injected the lead wire 5 curves as shown in phantom lines in FIG. 1. As a result, part of the lead wire 5 moves closer to the outer surface of the holder 6, thereby detracting from the voltage-withstanding characteristics of the female connector 1.
Also if the contact between the mold and the female terminal 2 is imperfect when the holder 6 is molded, the resin often enters the female terminal 2. Since the resin entering the female terminal adheres to the inner surface of the female terminal 2, the male terminal often fails to make electric contact with the female terminal 2.
Further, the thin-walled portion 8 has a very small thickness and its mechanical strength is very low. Therefore, it is not easy to form the thin-walled portion 8 with a constant thickness when the holder 6 is molded. Thus, the mechanical strength of the thin-walled portion 8 varies from product to product, leading to a drawback that when the male connector is connected to the female connector 2, the force required to insert the male connector into the female connector varies in value. Further, as a result of the aforesaid variation, when the thickness of the thin-walled portion 8 is insufficient, so is the elasticity of the female terminal 2 acting on the male terminal; thus, the reliability of contact of the female terminal 2 with the male terminal is low. Further, where the mechanical strength of the thin-walled portion 8 is low, it sometimes occurs that thin-walled portion 8 is broken by the insertion of the male terminal into the female terminal 2. In this case, the reliability of contact of the male terminal with the female terminal 2 further decreases.